Differentiated Instruction - Process by Readiness
- PowerPoint slides from Wednesday's presentation

Step 1 - What is Process? What is Readiness?
Content
(November 4) – What we teach and how we give students access to the information and ideas that matter.
Process (December 2) – How students come to understand and “own” the knowledge, understanding, and skills essential to a topic.
Products (January 20) – How a student demonstrates what he or she has come to know, understand, and be able to do, as a result of a segment of study.
By student Readiness - The current knowledge, understanding, and skill level a student has related to a particular sequence of learning.

Step 2 - Determine Essential "Learnings" that are truly essential for ALL students to obtain.

Step 3 - How Can We Determine Readiness?
MAP, Unit Test, Dibels, BRI, Running Records, ITBS/ITEDS, ANY formative or summative classroom assessment.

Step 4 - Identify the "Middle" of the class and then organize for the middle and for students "outside" the middle

Step 5 - Challenges: Every student deserves work that is focused on the essential knowledge, understanding, and skills targeted for the lesson.

Step 6 - Obtain Materials to allow students to make sense of their new learning. Provide students with activities that allow them to "own" the knowledge, understanding, and skills essential to a topic.

Sample ways to differentiate process by student readiness...

  1. Use tiered activities (activities at different levels of difficulty, but focused on the same key learning goals).
  2. Make task directions more detailed and spcific for some learners and more open for others.
  3. Provide resource materials at varied levels of readability and sophistication.
  4. Provide small-group discussions at varied levels of complexity and focused on a variety of skills.
  5. Use both like-readiness and mixed-readiness work groups.
  6. Use a variety of criteria for success, based on whole-class requirements as well as individual student readiness needs.
  7. Provide readiness-based homework assignments.
  8. Vary the pacing of student work.

Follow Up Discussion
Question posted on Monday, December 7th - Reply by Wednesday, December 9th
Question posted on Monday, December 14th - Reply by Wednesday, December 16th
Question posted on Monday, January 4th - Reply by Wednesday, January 6th
Survey (formative assessment) posted on Monday, January 11th - Reply by Wednesday, January 13th

Next Differentiated Instruction PD on Wednesday, January 20th.


Expectations (Weekly Discussion)
Minimum Requirement = Four “Segments of Study” and Weekly Blog Participation. Participants will plan and implement differentiated instruction at least four times during the four weeks following each DI day of professional development. Participants will also be expected to participate weekly in a school blog.
The first question for "Process" will be posted on Monday, December 7.

- For those who have questions about requirements and credit options.